Caesar's Civil War

Caesar's Civil War was a series of military and political confrontations between the populist Julius Caesar's political supporters and legions and the conservative and traditionalist supporters of the Roman Senate, led by Pompey the Great. Caesar's victory over the Senatorial forces allowed for him to become dictator for life, but his assassination in 44 BC sparked further conflict.

Background
The generals Publius Cornelius Sulla and Gaius Marius led the suppression of a revolt by some of Rome's Italian allies, known as the Social War, from 91 to 88 BC. At the end of the war Sulla led his army into Rome to expel Marius. The dispute was not resolved until 82 BC, when Sulla defeated a Marian army outside Rome. Sulla ruled for two years as dictator before retiring. From 73-71 BC an army of escaped slaves led by the former gladiator Spartacus waged guerrilla war in southern Italy. This uprising was brutally crushed by the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus, aided by Pompey. The latter went on to carry out successful campaigns to suppress piracy and extend Rome's empire in the eastern Mediterranean, earning the appellation "the Great." In 60 BC he formed an alliance with Crassus and the ambitious Julius Caesar to dominate Roman politics. This is known as the First Triumvirate.

War
In 56 BC Julius Caesar, then building his reputation as a general in the Gallic Wars, held meetings with Crassus and Pompey in northern Italy. The Triumvirate, the political alliance the three had formed, was under strain, but an agreement was reached. Caesar was conﬁrmed in his command in Gaul for a further ﬁve years, Crassus was given control of the rich province of Syria, and Pompey remained in Rome while serving as absentee governor of Hispania. This arrangement ended when Crassus was ignominiously defeated by a Parthian army at Carrhae in 53 BC. Both Crassus and his son were killed. Caesar was at ﬁrst distracted by the crisis of Vercingetorix’s uprising in Gaul, but once the Gauls had been paciﬁed the issue of his relationship with Pompey had to be resolved.

Originally the junior partner in the Triumvirate, Caesar had earned fame and wealth in his Gallic campaigns - wealth he used liberally to ensure the personal loyalty of his legions. After some initial hesitation, Pompey threw in his lot with the anti-Caesar faction in the Roman Senate, which demanded that Caesar leave his army in Gaul and return to Rome. Instead, on 10 January 49 BC, Caesar led his legionaries across the Rubicon, the river that marked the border between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy proper. Within weeks he occupied a largely unresisting Italy and forced Pompey to ﬂee across the Adriatic Sea. Instead of pursuing him, Caesar headed west, securing control of Hispania. Returning to Rome, he had himself declared dictator.

The defeat of Pompey
Pompey had meanwhile established himself in Macedonia, where he assembled an impressive army drawn from Rome’s eastern provinces; he also had a powerful war ﬂeet. In January 48 BC Caesar nonetheless succeeded in transporting seven legions across the Adriatic, joined later by four more legions under his follower, Mark Antony. Outside the port of Dyrrachium, in present-day Albania, they were confronted by Pompey’s numerically superior army. Short of food and water, Caesar’s legions were in a precarious position. The two sides engaged in a cagey contest, constructing fortiﬁcations and counter-fortiﬁcations and ﬁghting some costly skirmishes, before Caesar skillfully disengaged and marched into Greece, shadowed by Pompey. The armies met again on a plain outside Pharsalus. Outnumbered two to one, Caesar nevertheless accepted a challenge to give battle. By aggressive use of his infantry cohorts he ﬁrst drove off Pompey’s large cavalry force and then smashed his infantry formation. Pompey escaped the debacle and ﬂed by sea to seek refuge in Egypt. Seeking to avoid offence to the victorious Caesar, Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy XII, had Pompey killed the moment he stepped ashore. Pompey’s death did not end the civil war. While Caesar enjoyed an affair With Ptolemy’s sister, Cleopatra, and supported her claim to the Egyptian throne, Pompeian forces rallied. After some brisk campaigning in Asia, Caesar had to ﬁght battles at Thapsus in North Africa in 46 and Munda in Spain in 45 BCE before his victory over Pompey’s faction was complete. It proved nonetheless short-lived. Returning to Rome Caesar was declared dictator-for-life. Shortly after, on 15 March 44, he was assassinated by a conspiracy of Roman senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, who claimed to defend freedom and the Republic. Ironically, his body fell at the foot of a statue of Pompey.